Sergei Kostitsyn led the way by notching his first career hat trick as the Nashville Predators continued a strong stretch on home ice with a 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Matt Halischuk and Kevin Klein also scored goals for the Preds, who won for the seventh time in the last 8 games at Bridgestone Arena. Pekka Rinne made 17 saves for his 19th win of the season.
Jarome Iginla scored the 499th goal of his NHL career for Calgary, but couldn't quite get #500 tonight.
Follow after the jump for video highlights & reaction!
First the video (might take 30-45 minutes post-game to work):
Post-game audio is available from Patric Hornqvist, Ryan Suter, Kevin Klein, and Barry Trotz (click each name for the MP3).
Your random observations:
- What a stunning way to start the game, eh? That opening goal for Jarome Iginla looked pretty ominous, but from there on the Preds dominated. What was especially encouraging was the way Nashville ruled the 2nd period, outshooting Calgary 15-4 even though they already had the lead.
- What got into Sergei Kostitsyn? He drove the net aggressively on his first goal, and took the shot on a 2-on-1 for his 2nd. Is he experiencing a change of heart about shooting the puck? Let's check back after a month or so. The empty netter was a bit of a cheapie, but given that it was for his 1st-ever hat trick, you can't blame him for tapping that in (even though it would've let to Kevin Klein's first 2-goal game).
- Craig Smith didn't play the last 11 minutes of the game or so, we'll have to stay tuned to see what the news is on that front.
- Kevin Klein scored a goal in his return to the lineup, but also got suckered out of position on the Rene Bourque goal for Calgary, as both he and Francis Bouillon followed the puck carrier into the corner and left Bourque in the slot all alone.
- Enjoy the Corsi Numbers below - note Ryan Ellis as your leading Corsi man for the night, with a +10, and a penalty drawn on Tom Kostopoulos deep behind the Calgary net.